During a recent workshop meeting, West Chester Borough Council attempted to find a way to deal with the issue of short-term overnight rentals, such as Airbnbs, writes Bill Rettew for The Daily Local News. 

Borough Solicitor Kristin Camp suggested a limit on rentals in a draft ordinance she presented to the council on Tuesday. This was the first time the council had looked at a short-term rental policy, and it is likely that the draft will be amended and altered several times over the coming weeks. 

Currently, a Google search for “Airbnb West Chester PA” returns 19 rentals that range from $53 to $200 per night, plus fees. Several of these are located in the borough, while at least one is located just two miles from downtown. 

Camp proposed limiting short-term rentals exclusively to the Town Center zoning district, and not the primarily residential neighborhoods. 

The council also considered imposing a requirement to provide two off-street parking spaces for guests per unit. 

“There may be a problem if they are parking on the street,” said Camp. 

Read more about the proposal in The Daily Local News. 

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